Odd lens flare with the 10-18 zoom

This was shot at 10mm. The sunburst looked cool in the viewfinder. On the monitor, not so much. Was this a function of the lens being at f/22, the fact that the lens had a filter onboard (albeit a good quality Marumi lens protector), or should I just expect this kind of odd flare artifacts when shooting a UWA directly into the sun?

Some of those flare dots are downright bizarre.. they look like donuts. Or condoms

Never seen that shooting a sun star, but then never shot a sun star with my NEX 6. I'm not sure those dots are dust though. Could be a dirty filter or someone suggested a dirty sensor, but maybe just a function of the lens and filter.

... Was this a function of the lens being at f/22, the fact that the lens had a filter onboard (albeit a good quality Marumi lens protector), or should I just expect this kind of odd flare artifacts when shooting a UWA directly into the sun?

That patterned rainbow spot effect has been seen extensively on the A7/R under the same shooting conditions, as you probably have read. In addition to that you have some ordinary flare spots and some dust in/on the lens.

This was shot at 10mm. The sunburst looked cool in the viewfinder. On the monitor, not so much. Was this a function of the lens being at f/22, the fact that the lens had a filter onboard (albeit a good quality Marumi lens protector), or should I just expect this kind of odd flare artifacts when shooting a UWA directly into the sun?

Some of those flare dots are downright bizarre.. they look like donuts. Or condoms

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yr. obt. svt.,abdoozyWSSA Member#160

To learn more about such flare pattern you should invest the $ 50 it takes to purchase a pinhole cover for the NEX. Then you would see wild flares in any color if you shoot into the sun. These are at f/150 or smaller and then this effect becomes even more prevalent.

Otherwise: Go and learn NOT to use f/22 into the sun; and do clean your lenses and sensor every once in a while.

But I am serious about those pinhole covers, the cheapest new lens you can buy,so try one and learn.

This was shot at 10mm. The sunburst looked cool in the viewfinder. On the monitor, not so much. Was this a function of the lens being at f/22, the fact that the lens had a filter onboard (albeit a good quality Marumi lens protector), or should I just expect this kind of odd flare artifacts when shooting a UWA directly into the sun?

Some of those flare dots are downright bizarre.. they look like donuts. Or condoms

-- hide signature --

yr. obt. svt.,abdoozyWSSA Member#160

To learn more about such flare pattern you should invest the $ 50 it takes to purchase a pinhole cover for the NEX. Then you would see wild flares in any color if you shoot into the sun. These are at f/150 or smaller and then this effect becomes even more prevalent.

Otherwise: Go and learn NOT to use f/22 into the sun; and do clean your lenses and sensor every once in a while.

But I am serious about those pinhole covers, the cheapest new lens you can buy,so try one and learn.

After 40+ years of photography I know enough not to shoot f/22 into the sun (or anywhere else) for any reason except flat experimentation, which is all I was doing here. I appreciate comments regarding the spots and the odd rainbow effect, which I'd heard about with the A7 but not with the NEX6.

The sensor is cleaned regularly. The spot problem is likely as others have mentioned, with minuscule particles on the lens protector.

This was shot at 10mm. The sunburst looked cool in the viewfinder. On the monitor, not so much. Was this a function of the lens being at f/22, the fact that the lens had a filter onboard (albeit a good quality Marumi lens protector), or should I just expect this kind of odd flare artifacts when shooting a UWA directly into the sun?

Some of those flare dots are downright bizarre.. they look like donuts. Or condoms

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yr. obt. svt.,abdoozyWSSA Member#160

I think its pretty normal under the shooting conditions you were using. I've been able to get all of my Sony mirrorless cameras (NEX 5n, NEX 7, A7R) to behave similarly with pretty much any lens I've tried - though, A7R is the easiest to make flare this way. I probably should try my E-PL3 and Pentax Q to see if they do similar (I do think the larger the sensor and closer the rear lens element is to the sensor, the worse the issue, so micro-4/3 and Pentax Q should have less of a problem). I certainly don't see this as an issue with the camera or lens, as I do not shoot under these conditions other than to test the lens to see where it starts flaring.

This was shot at 10mm. The sunburst looked cool in the viewfinder. On the monitor, not so much. Was this a function of the lens being at f/22, the fact that the lens had a filter onboard (albeit a good quality Marumi lens protector), or should I just expect this kind of odd flare artifacts when shooting a UWA directly into the sun?

Some of those flare dots are downright bizarre.. they look like donuts. Or condoms

-- hide signature --

yr. obt. svt.,abdoozyWSSA Member#160

To learn more about such flare pattern you should invest the $ 50 it takes to purchase a pinhole cover for the NEX. Then you would see wild flares in any color if you shoot into the sun. These are at f/150 or smaller and then this effect becomes even more prevalent.

Otherwise: Go and learn NOT to use f/22 into the sun; and do clean your lenses and sensor every once in a while.

But I am serious about those pinhole covers, the cheapest new lens you can buy,so try one and learn.

Hmm. Galen Rowell recommended shooting at F22 for sun stars. What is the authority for your comment ?

After 40+ years of photography I know enough not to shoot f/22 into the sun (or anywhere else) for any reason except flat experimentation, which is all I was doing here. I appreciate comments regarding the spots and the odd rainbow effect, which I'd heard about with the A7 but not with the NEX6.

Samples I have seen show NEX 6 performance is more like A7 then A7R in this regard.

The A7 got a lot of negative publicity on it as people are probably being more critical of the sensor. The A7R doesn't seem to do it near as much.

I have the Sigma 8-16 lens, it virtualy focuses on the lens surface, so that dust tends to show up, lens flare is always a feature/problem with very wide lenses. If your trying to get the star burst effect from a light source you need to stop down below f16, so I cannot see that f22 is out of the ordinary, or wrong